Posted by HLL Admin

Earlier this year, an Illinois Supreme Court ruling set a distinct precedent, expanding the conditions under which a company may be held liable for the negligent actions of its employees. The case in question involved a driver employed by Pan-Oceanic Engineering, a general contractor based in Chicago. When the driver, Lavonta Green, was asked to pick up and transport a skid steer from Patten Industries, he encountered a problem; The skid steer was not properly loaded.

Multiple Parties Show Disregard for Safety

When Green asked Patten employees to load the equipment properly, they refused. Green contacted his Pan-Oceanic supervisor, Savinder Singh, to inform him that the skid steer appeared to be “crooked” and not properly loaded in the truck. Singh spoke with a Patten employee over the phone, after which he told Green to “be safe” and return to Pan-Oceanic with the load.

On his way back, the driver noticed his trailer was unbalanced, causing it to bounce. When he saw this, Green stepped on the breaks and the trailer swung into a motorist’s car, causing him injuries. The motorist, Fletcher McQueen, sued Pan-Oceanic and Green, alleging that negligence from both parties caused the traffic collision. 

A jury ruled in favor of McQueen against Pan-Oceanic, but not against the driver, Green. They assessed damages of $163,227.45, and found that Pan-Oceanic had displayed reckless disregard for the safety of others. In additional punitive damages, the jury awarded a whopping $1 million.

Appeals and the Illinois Supreme Court’s Ruling

When the case was appealed, the court held that the plaintiff could not maintain a claim for direct negligence against the driver’s employer because Pan-Oceanic had already admitted responsibility for the employee’s conduct under respondeat superior. 

They concluded the jury’s findings—that Green was not negligent, but Pan-Oceanic acted with aggravated negligence—were legally inconsistent. The case was then appealed to the Supreme Court.

This Illinois Supreme Court considered the following questions: Can an employer who has admitted their own liability under respondeat superior be held liable for its own negligence even when a jury finds that the employee was not negligent? Was the trial court’s decision to grant the employer’s request for a new trial correct?

The Illinois Supreme Court decided that a plaintiff may indeed plead and prove multiple negligent actions that led to the accident. This is a departure from what is known as the McHaffie rule, which references a Missouri Supreme Court decision that separate claims of negligence may not be made against an employer who has already admitted respondeat superior negligence.

What Trucking Companies Should Know

The outlined decision above represents an increased legal risk for trucking companies. In this case, Pan-Oceanic was held liable for negligence in its hiring, training, and retention standards as well as the negligent actions of its employees. Trucking companies within Illinois jurisdiction face the risk of double-dip negligence claims and an outside chance that other states may follow suit.

Trucking companies must devise a plan of action to respond to such a legal threat and, more importantly, shore up their training, hiring, and employee retention standards in order to fully mitigate risks. 

Hughes Lawyers LLC specializes trucking and transportation matters such as: trucking accidents and personal injury, catastrophic injury and fatality claims, and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act compliance. If you are in need of legal services for risk mitigation or urgent crisis management, contact us right away.